


Rúnviðr

by Latent_Thoughts



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Awkward Sexual Situations, BAMF Loki (Marvel), Dubious Consent, Dubiously Consensual Blow Jobs, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki DOES NOT train a dragon, Loki befriends a dragon, Loki fights a dragon, Loki in a cave, Mildly Dubious Consent, POV Loki (Marvel), Plot, Plot Twists, Sexual Content, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Tension, Shit's gonna go down, Smut, Weird smut, You Have Been Warned, dragon trains Loki, with a dragon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:40:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23432533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latent_Thoughts/pseuds/Latent_Thoughts
Summary: Loki is sent on a mission to find and rescue the missing Vanir crown princess from the forest of untold magics. However, what he finds there baffles him completely. He’s taken captive by a magical dragon, who seems bent on keeping him in her lair, jeopardizing his quest. While Loki tries to forge an uncomfortable alliance with his captor, he cannot help but wonder if the creature was the one to take the princess.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 91
Kudos: 127
Collections: Mythical Creatures





	1. CHAPTER - 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a short-ish piece. I started writing it months ago for a writers' collab collection over at the **Loki's Library Discord Server**.  
> It's probably the craziest thing I've ever written (you'll understand why when we get to that part. hah). So... good luck with it, I guess. I hope you all enjoy it.

Panting and out of breath, she ran as fast as her feet could take her. The gnarly roots of ancient trees tripped her, as though they were helping her pursuer.

“Leave me be!” she yelled, looking back at the dark form that followed her smoothly through the magical forest.

“Stop running, little princess.”

Tears marred her vision as she tried her best to outrun the abomination chasing her. “I want to go back. I never intended to come here!”

“Of course, you didn’t,” the raspy, grating voice responded, sounding closer than its form appeared to be. “ _ I _ drew you here.”

She tried to cast a discombobulation spell, but her harried state and trembling hands hampered her attempt.

“Your spells are wasted on me, girl. But your magic is of use to me. Why else do you think I brought you here?”

“Please, no!” Her mind reeled. Why did it want her magic? What was it planning to do?

“You’re like a brook of bubbling, youthful seidr. So full of potential.”

Suddenly, she was grabbed by an invisible force and dragged back into the grove of ruins from where she had run. She screamed in protest. 

“Let me go!”

“I will, but not before I’m done with you.”

A void-like darkness greeted her in the ruins; it was absolutely terrifying. She felt helpless against this powerful entity.

“If you would be a dear and stop resisting so much, I may even be merciful and give you a way out of your predicament.”

“Please…” Her shoulders slumped as she gave in, letting the dark being pull her further into the ruins. “Take from me what you want, but please let me go afterwards.”

“Of course, little princess, after all, you have to return to your people some day…”

“Yes.”

“But that day may well be very far off into the future, I’m sad to say… for I won’t let you go till I take your magics from you.”

“What?” Her wet, weary eyes widened in fear.

“Now, let me take from that fountain of seidr that you have… I crave for it.”

Her cries of anguish were muffled by the darkness as it engulfed her. Soon, they were drowned out completely by the sounds of the dark forest.”

* * *

Loki was traversing through the Vanir gardens, just enjoying the walk through nature as the night slowly fell over dusk. It gave his constantly active mind a sense of calm.

He was a part of the royal convoy that was visiting Vanaheim, with his mother, Queen Frigga, at its head. The visit had been arranged specifically to ingratiate him with the people of Vanaheim once again. After Loki’s rampage against Jotunheim and Midgard, the friendly realms of Vanaheim and Alfheim had asked for assurances from Asgard. Assurances that he wouldn’t attack  _ them _ .

As if him spending decades in the dungeons of Asgard wasn’t enough…

He tore a delicate flower from a low hanging branch of a Dökkaablóm tree as he went onwards into the expansive gardens. It was an iridescent blossom that only bloomed in darkness. One of his favourites.

He meditated on the past while he caressed the flower.

Odin hadn’t planned to let him out of the dungeons for the next five or so thousand years, despite the fact that he had helped save the Universe after the Dark Elf attack. He had been thrown right back into his cell while Thor had been severely punished for their act of  _ treason _ . 

Neither had been allowed to see each other. The only connection between them had been his mother...

But upon Odin’s passing, Loki was suddenly released. It was one of Thor’s very first decisions as king.

Thor’s clemency had surprised Loki, but he had chosen not to read negatively into it. Freedom was more important than raking up the feud that Odin had fostered between them. Odin was dead, and so, it was apt that the feud between the brothers died as well.

Now, both of them were focused on mending things… 

In Vanaheim, Loki had done his part to assuage the people and show them that he had been reformed, so to say. He had met the royals, the nobles, even some commoners, as a sign of goodwill. He had even given an ear to their grievances, general or towards Asgard. Any favours he could give, he meted out.

He was pulled from his reflections as he heard someone approaching from behind, and hence, he turned around to receive whoever it was. It was one of the royal servants. 

“Your highness,” he said with a bow, “the king and queen have requested for your presence in their private sitting room.”

Well, that was certainly unexpected. “At this hour?”

“They wish to discuss a delicate matter, your highness.”

Loki nodded to the servant. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

The servant bowed to him again and then walked away, leaving Loki to his thoughts.

A delicate matter… what could it be?

* * *

Loki stared at the king and queen of Vanaheim in disbelief. Meanwhile, his mother kept her eyes trained on a curtain, as if it were the most fascinating curtain in the nine realms.

“Your daughter, the first born, the heir to the throne of Vanaheim?” he asked incredulously.

The king nodded slowly, while the queen’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Yes, our precious Viruna. You’ve met her… at her coming of age celebration.”

“Of course, I remember.” He ran a hand through his hair, not caring if he mussed it in the process. “You’re telling me that your eldest has been missing for the last  _ one decade _ , but you haven’t done  _ anything  _ to find her?”

“We did. It all turned out to be a fruitless venture. We simply couldn’t find her.”

“How hard is it to find a princess?” he asked, utterly baffled at this revelation.

“Loki,” Frigga admonished him softly, reminding him to keep his tone gentle. “The Vanir are people of magic, if they’re saying that they searched for her thoroughly, then it means that they indeed searched for her in every way they could.”

“Then why, pray tell, am _ I _ needed here?”

“You’re a master sorcerer, Prince Loki, the best in the nine realms, one would say,” the queen stated plainly, her eyes beseeching him.

The praise was flattering, but he couldn’t help feeling that they were only saying all this to placate him and win his favour.

If he were so  _ venerated  _ in Vanaheim, he wouldn’t have spent the last three days trying to convince its people that he was a reformed man now.

“How are the people not clamouring about this issue?” he asked suddenly, eyeing the royal pair with suspicion.

“No one knows.”

“I beg your pardon?”

The king shifted uncomfortably. “It’s true. No one knows, not even the nobles.”

“How did you keep it hidden?”

The queen answered. “We simply announced that she had gone to study a special form of seidr in another realm, beyond the nine.”

Loki’s eyebrows rose up his forehead. “And everyone believed it?”

“Yes. It has only been a decade, so no one paid it any mind.”

He let out a long, heavy sigh, eyeing the distraught royal couple with pity. “I’m not even going to ask what your long term solution was for this fiasco.”

“There wasn’t any, except for finding her.”

He gave his mother a look of reluctance, but she simply nodded sagely, grasping his hand in support. “Tell me about her disappearance.”

“She walked into the Rúnviðr one evening, and didn’t return,” the king said, wrapping his arm around the queen as she began to softly sniffle. 

Loki’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that the forbidden forest of untold magics?”

“Yes, and she was indeed told not to go there.”

How strange. From what he knew of Princess Viruna, she wasn’t the one to take rash decisions. “Did you not have a pact with the dwellers of that forest? To not have the Vanir venture into it?”

The king nodded, his face crinkling in dismay. “Yes, those are the actual natives of Vanaheim. They were here before the Vanir settled here a hundred thousand years ago. It’s only natural that they want to keep us out of their sacred forest.”

Well, he knew about that; he didn’t need a history lesson from the king. So, he pushed on with Viruna. “And your daughter simply frolicked into that forest?”

“Sometimes, it’s hard to tell where the Rúnviðr begins and where our territory ends. But they always return the interlopers to us, knowing that there is no drawn boundary.”

Loki considered his words for a moment, ruminating on why the princess wasn’t returned. He reached a conclusion soon enough. “I believe the princess went further into their territory than a mere interloper.”

The queen shook her head in what seemed like denial. “We have no way to tell. This has never happened before. She may have been keen about going on adventures, but she wasn’t a fool. And never before had she shown any interest in going to that forest.”

“If you’re willing to trust her, then who am I to question her?” Loki sighed again, looking to his mother for help. He knew what the Vanir sovereigns were asking of him, but it was a risky endeavour.

Frigga gave him a pleading look, but remained silent. Hence, he had to turn his attention back to the king and queen.

“So, I assume that you want me to venture into the forest of untold magics?” Loki asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the luxurious sofa of the royal sitting room. “And you want me to return with your daughter.”

They both nodded solemnly. “You’re our last bit of hope.”

“Well, this is certainly more adventure than I had hoped for while traveling here.”

It was now that his mother finally chose to speak up. “Please help them, Loki, they’re almost family. The princess is a dear heart, you know that.”

He didn’t want to take up this quest, but Frigga’s beseeching and the utterly devastated expressions on the king and queen’s faces compelled him to agree to it. 

All things considered, it wouldn’t hurt to bring the princess back. More so, his efforts would serve to put the whole royal family of Vanaheim in his debt for countless centuries.

Perhaps, he could take that risk.

* * *

“I want you to turn around and head back now.” Loki looked over at the guards who were flanking him on both sides as they headed towards the Rúnviðr. “I can manage from here.”

They all looked extremely uncomfortable, but they turned their horses around nonetheless.

Loki was about to move his steed forward when one of them suddenly spoke up. 

“Beware of the  _ dreki _ , sire,” she stated firmly, looking up at the sky. “It takes those with overflowing magics in them.”

And then she left with the rest of her detail.

Her words intrigued Loki immensely. 

_ Beware of the dreki... _

So there was a  _ dragon  _ in these forests as well. And somehow, the Vanir king and queen had failed to mention  _ that  _ to him.

Still, that bit of revelation didn’t deter Loki. He had dealt with dragons before, he could do so again…

The forest darkened as he proceeded further into it. Not a surprise, since it was ancient. Old Vanir forests had one thing in common--they were all thick and lush.

What set this forest apart was its inherent magic. Loki could feel tendrils of seidr going through all the organic matter of the forest. It was a place of great power, and it seemed to  _ breathe  _ seidr.

He sent out little feelers with his seidr, wanting to interact with the forest dwellers, telling them the purpose of his visit and seeking their permission to venture further into the forest.

His magical missives weren't returned with similarly enthused responses, though. What he received was a simple, silent permission.

It seemed that the natives were loathe to come forward and interact with him directly.

That was possibly the first instance of him realizing that something was wrong in the forest.

However, despite his misgivings about the natives, Loki felt surprisingly rejuvenated by the Rúnviðr; the power of the ancient forest seemed to seep right into his bones.

Loki felt as though he was being welcomed by this magical place…

After traveling through the thicket for about an hour, he reached a clearing. He was at the edge of an expansive lake that had very high vertical cliffs on the other side.

Frowning, Loki observed the cliffs for a while, recalling how he couldn’t see them from the Vanir territory. It was obvious that the magic of the forest was involved in the shrouding of the cliffs. Perhaps they’d be a good place to begin his search for the princess.

Just as he began to descend towards the lake shore, his horse began to neigh loudly. Something was making it nervous.

Loki looked around him, suddenly very alert. His seidr fired up in anticipation, for he indeed felt a presence in his surroundings. 

Quickly getting off the horse, he turned around and watched the copse of trees lining the lake, waiting for the presence to act.

He knew that he was essentially posing as a bait to the entity, but he  _ also _ knew that he had to try and lure it out. It was most likely the culprit behind the princess’s disappearance. 

For a while, nothing happened. He kept waiting, watching all his sides, ready to act. Yet, he heard nothing else… only the chirping of birds.

Suddenly, something sharp clamped onto his shoulders, tearing through his spaulders and digging into his skin. He realized, with a start, that they were  _ talons…  _ and that he was being lifted into the air.

He gasped in pain and let a blast of his seidr upwards. That seemed to work, for he was released immediately. 

Loki looked up as he fell into the deep azure lake water.

It was a  _ dragon…  _ shimmering in the sky like a jewel.

Rising from the water, he aimed his seidr at the dragon again. However, just before he hit it, it disappeared. Completely.

He had never seen a dragon do  _ that _ before.

“We can play this game,” he muttered using the cloaking spell on himself.

For a few moments, all was quiet. 

Loki's shoulders ached terribly, the injuries there smarting against the torn leather of his armour. 

Just as he tried to swim to the shore and check on his wounds, he felt something heavy crash into him, sending him splashing back into the lake.

He groaned and tried to teleport away, but he was slammed again. Water entered his lungs as he gasped upon the impact.

Something grabbed him just as he broke the surface and tried to heave the water out. One more, sharp talons dug into his armour. He conjured a big dagger in his hand and stabbed the entity--which he now knew was the invisible dragon.

It roared in agony, but didn’t let go of his arm.

Loki tried to stab it again, but it smacked the dagger right out of his grip. He growled in frustration, just as the creature decided to push him into the lake waters again. 

He struggled against it desperately. It was surprising how strong it was, by far the strongest dragon he had ever encountered. 

Fighting it was hard, for its talons dug into his already wounded shoulders. Plus, the angle wasn't working in his favour to conjure and throw daggers at it.

Damnit, he hadn't thought to be bested by a dragon so easily. He should've been better prepared.

More water entered his lungs and burned them, making him sputter in agony as he punched and kicked the dragon using his seidr alone. It didn't look like it was working against the creature, for it simply snarled shook Loki like a rag doll.

He dearly wished to use his spells, but they needed mental concentration and a few seconds to conjure. He had neither the time nor the mental capacity right now… he was about to  _ drown! _

His head grew cloudy then, and his seidr progressively weakened, as if it was being sucked by the creature that was attacking him.

He wondered if it’d stop trying to drown him if he stopped struggling. He had to try, for he knew that he was close to losing his consciousness anyway.


	2. CHAPTER - 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki finds himself beneath the paws of the dragon again.

Loki woke up to a sensation of stifling heaviness. 

Something was weighing him down as he lay on his back, making it hard to breathe. It was also emitting a constant, low rumble that he could feel down to his very bones.

It sounded awfully similar to a purring feline. But stronger. Much stronger.

He groaned as he tried to move, pain shooting through his wounded shoulders and chest immediately. Norns, he needed to heal...

Even his eyelids felt heavy, as though someone had adhered them to his eyes. He wanted to open them, but they just wouldn’t obey.

He groaned again, trying to take a deep breath. The weight on his chest kept him from doing it. Speaking was laborious too, he discovered, as he tried to open his mouth to speak. It felt dry and rough.

Somehow, all of this caused panic to rise in his chest. His mind was dragging him back to his darkest, most unpleasant memories--of his time with the vicious titan and his minions… 

Loki shook his head, trying to regain control of his senses… trying to shake off the feeling of helplessness that was bearing down on him.

The weight above him moved then, pushing off him at long last. He took a long drag of air to fill his lungs, feeling them burn as he did so. Of course, he had nearly drowned. That was par for the course. Still, he tried to keep taking deep breaths.

That worked to clear his head a bit. 

Slowly, he laboured towards opening his eyes once again. One lid lifted, then another. His vision was initially blurry, but it cleared as he blinked a few times.

He was… in a cave of sorts. Grey, shiny rock interior--it was the same colour as those cliffs he had spotted at the lake. And he seemed to be lying on a thick layer of… dried moss?

Something moved to his right, prompting him to turn his head.

It was the dragon--its scales pale and iridescent, eyes an icy blue.

Startled, Loki tried to rise and push away from the creature, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. However, his injuries didn’t let him move much at all, and he just wiggled in place like a struggling fish out of water.

The dragon watched him silently, completely still and calm. 

“Norns, just kill me!” His vision blurred as the pain in his injured shoulders increased due to his flailing. 

The dragon still watched him placidly, its eyes wide open.

After the terror of being so close to it receded a tad bit, Loki gave it a pleading look. 

“Why didn’t you kill me when I wasn’t awake?” he asked resentfully, hating being so weak and helpless, not to mention, at the absolute mercy of this cruel creature.

The said creature tilted its head slightly, it’s eyes dilating as it observed Loki from head to toe. Then, it raised its forepaw and placed it on Loki’s abdomen. 

The heavy weight of it forced Loki to stop squirming, which was adding to his pain. He gave the dragon a sharp look, noticing, probably a bit too late, that the dragon wasn’t at all in an attacking stance. 

“What do you want?” he asked weakly, his eyes now shifting to the heavy paw on his midsection. 

The dragon shook its head, its enormous blue eyes still gazing at him intensely.

Loki came to an unexpected conclusion then...

“You can understand me.” It wasn’t a question. The creature had sentience, he could tell. It was in its  _ eyes _ . 

The creature nodded, finally removing its paw from his abdomen.

“Can we talk with some civility? Instead of you trying to kill me, mayhap?” Loki asked tentatively, wondering what kind of misadventure he was about to embark on, trying to chat up a dangerous animal with sentience.

The dragon tilted its head to the right, as if confused. 

“Please don’t tell me that you weren’t trying to kill me down at the lake.”

It flared its nostrils and let out a puff of its breath, shaking its head.

Ah, so it was trying to refute his claim; that much he understood. “Fine, since you haven’t made an attempt at my life again right now, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

It narrowed its eyes at him, as if saying ‘ _ don’t try your luck with me by being acerbic _ .’ Well, duly noted...

“I know that I’m an outsider, and you’re probably angry at me for intruding into your space. But I’m here on a quest,” he tried to explain, rising from the layers of dried moss. “And as soon as I have what I seek, I'll be out of your hair… or scales, whichever.”

The dragon watched him expectantly, wanting him to continue, perhaps.

“I’m looking for the Vanir princess. She was lost here some ten years ago, and didn’t return. Maybe you can tell me something about it?”

The dragon’s eyes seemed to glow then, as it watched Loki keenly, ears perking up. 

Loki understood enough body language to know that the dragon  _ did  _ know about the missing princess. He just hoped that it hadn’t killed or eaten her.

“So… you know something about it?” he asked curiously, watching the dragon for signs of culpability.

The dragon suddenly stood up and roared at him, startling Loki so much that he nearly fell back onto the moss. That wasn’t a reaction he had been expecting. 

Before he could say anything more, the dragon thumped away from him. He watched, agog, as the creature went straight to the mouth of the cave and flew out, leaving Loki alone to his thoughts.

Still quite shaken, Loki trudged towards the mouth of the and peered out. He discovered that the cave was located in the higher reaches of the vertical cliffs. He wouldn’t be able to climb down from here on his own. Even with magic, teleporting from this height was quite risky, especially in his injured state.

So, Loki decided to stay and heal himself quickly. He didn’t know when the dragon would be back. It seemed likely that it would indeed be back, for the cave looked lived in.

There was the moss bed, a collection of animal bones, and even a sort of rough, basic hearth, with a fire crackling in it. 

Strange; who knew dragons needed hearths?

There was also a very rough looking stone bowl near the hearth, filled with water to the brim. It was clean and clear, and so he drank some to soothe his parched throat. 

* * *

The dragon didn’t return till sundown. 

By then, Loki was back on the moss bed--nest?--and trying to heal himself through sleep. The healing seidr always worked better if he didn’t move or put his body in any kind of distress.

He was woken up by a nudge at his hip. 

A shiver ran through him as he tried to get up, watching the dragon cautiously. 

It was holding a fish in its mouth.

Loki frowned, wondering what it wanted from him. “Yes?” he asked sluggishly, his voice roughened with sleep.

The dragon dropped the fish in his lap and then went to sit at the mouth of the cave. 

Loki stared at the fish in confusion. So… it was trying to  _ feed  _ him?

He decided not to ask about the fish twice, treating it as a blessing that the dragon cared enough to feed him. Though, he still didn’t know why it was keeping him in the cave.

Was he going to be a part of some kind of dragon hoard? (Not that he’d let that happen..)

He cooked the fish at the rudimentary hearth, grimacing as all the hunching needed for it made his wounds ache.

Still, he was happy to get a meal, however bland it may have been. He did add some salt and pepper to it, which he always kept in his interdimensional storage. But other than that, he couldn’t do much to make the fish more palatable to his tastes.

After having his fill, Loki sat down on a small, smooth rock and took his ripped armour and tunic off, ignoring the presence of a very dangerous being in the cave, and tried to inspect his wounds properly. 

The gashes from the talons were still there, but they were mending. There were deep bruises all over his shoulders and chest, accompanying the still open slash wounds. Those would take their own sweet time in disappearing. 

The pain was still very much present, indicating internal damage to his tendons and muscles. By his estimate, it would take him at least a day or two to heal them enough to not be in constant pain.

Sighing, he reached into his interdimensional storage to pluck out a pain-numbing potion and a healing salve. He always kept them on hand, for injuries were always a possibility for a warrior prince. He prefered to be always prepared.

The dragon crept upon him while he was applying the salve on his wounds. He only detected its presence behind him when he felt its breath on his bare back. He stiffened in response, wondering what it was up to.

It sniffed him, pushing its snout into his neck from behind. The move was extremely invasive, and it made Loki feel thoroughly exposed and uncomfortable.

Also, he wasn’t sure, but it seemed that the creature had shrunk in size. Yet another thing that he wasn't aware the dragons were capable of.

“What do you want now?” he asked curtly, trying to move away from its still sniffing snout. “I’m tending to the wounds  _ you  _ gave me. They still hurt.”

That seemed to have some impact on the dragon, because it removed its snout from his neck. A single forepaw landed on his thigh then, prompting him to turn around and look at the creature.

Its eyes were dilated now, shining brightly in the flickering firelight. It made a strange clicking noise with its jaw, its gaze sliding over to Loki’s wounds. Loki couldn’t be sure, but it almost looked like the creature was repentant...

He decided to speak to fill the awkward silence between them. “Yes, well, I’m applying salve on them. I have a natural, rapid healing capacity, but it seems that you did quite a lot of damage to my shoulders.”

Opening the potion bottle, he drank its contents in a single gulp. The dragon watched him with keen interest, as if wanting to know more about the potion.

“Pain numbing potion,” he explained. “I brewed it myself. I keep several bottles, in case I encounter things that might harm me, like a murderous dragon.”

It huffed and rolled its eyes at his remark, leaving him completely astonished. 

A dragon had just rolled its eyes at him. That was a first.

“So, I suppose you can’t talk but can express sarcasm very well.”

The dragon patted his thigh and nodded, moving its face closer to Loki’s. He gulped, trying not to appear apprehensive as it put its other forepaw on his thigh as well, putting quite a bit of its weight there. Loki tried his best not to grimace in discomfort. He didn’t want the creature to think him weak.

A forked tongue slithered out and licked his cheek then, taking him completely by surprise. 

Was the dragon… showing  _ affection _ ?

It was well known that certain animals showed affection like that, by licking. But he wasn’t sure about dragons. He knew about how to fight them, since they were known to be vicious creatures, but he knew not about their affectionate gestures.

“Are you trying to tell me that you suddenly like me?” Loki asked, slightly amused now. He arched an eyebrow at the dragon as he picked up the tattered remains of his tunic and tried to wipe its saliva from his cheek.

The dragon opened its maw and showed him all of its sharp, shiny white teeth. He supposed it was trying to give him a grin, however terrifying it looked.

Loki shrugged, nudging the dragon’s paws to make it known that he wanted it off his thighs. 

“It would’ve been more convincing to me had you not tried to kill me on our first meeting. How am I to trust you?”

The dragon closed its mouth and let out a smoky breath against Loki’s face. It was strong enough to ruffle his hair. It took its paws off Loki and stepped away, moving to the mouth of the cave again.

Loki observed keenly that it was indeed smaller in size now. Much smaller than it had been at the lake.

It sat down regally, akin to a large cat, and stared out of the opening, perhaps watching the twin moons and stars. Who knew?

Loki couldn’t say for sure, but to him, it looked like it was lonely.

Sighing, Loki rose from the improvised rocky stool and walked up to the dragon. The creature ignored him, still looking out into the night with its big, sky coloured eyes.

“Why did you attack me at the lake?” he asked solemnly, lowering himself on his haunches to be at the creature’s eye level.

The dragon continued to ignore him, blinking a few times and licking its paw once.

“Now this is just rude behaviour, dragon,” he said, feeling a bit bolder, now that the creature had expressed its interest in maintaining a cordial relationship with him. “I fully accepted your lick of friendship. Why must you ignore me now?”

The dragon rolled its eyes. Again.

“So that was just… what… nothing? You mean to say that you don’t like me?”

The dragon lowered its head and buried it between its forepaws, essentially hiding more than half of its face from Loki’s gaze. Now, only the spiky crown-like formations on its head were visible. 

This was quite strange; never had he seen a dragon so expressive. What a marvelous discovery!

Hesitantly, Loki reached forward and stroked its back. The dragon twitched in response, its folded wings shifting slightly. But other than that, it didn’t move. It was accepting Loki’s touch, but not fully welcoming it for some reason.

“Fine, you can sulk all you want, dragon. I need to go sleep now. It helps me in recuperating and healing. I assume I’ll see you in the morn?”

Just as he was finishing speaking, the dragon jumped up and darted off towards the moss bed, flopping right on top of it.

“Hey!” Loki called after it. “Where would  _ I  _ sleep? I’m injured… am I to sleep on the rough floor of this Norn damned cave?”

The dragon waved its long tail at him, as if mocking him. Great, this was the last thing he needed--getting mocked by a creature.

He huffed in annoyance and lowered himself at the foot of the moss bed, grimacing a bit as the bruises on his flanks twinged and hurt. 

The pain numbing potion was taking its own sweet time to act, it seemed.

Just as he was gingerly trying to lie down on the cold floor, the dragon’s tail slithered around his waist and pulled him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Let me know what you thought of the chapter. You can even share your theories about the dragon. heh


	3. CHAPTER - 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and the dragon get to know each other some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hokay so, this is where the shit gets real. This is where all my warnings about incoming weirdness come true. lol  
> 

Loki gasped as he was lifted from the floor and deposited on the moss bed, right next to the dragon. Oh well, so now the creature thought it perfectly fine to manhandle him again?

He turned towards the dragon to glare at it in offence, but stopped dead in his tracks as he saw something strange happening… something he  _ had  _ been suspecting on the side...

As he watched in astonishment, the dragon grew smaller and smaller. It made a series of clicking noises and turned on its side, facing Loki, its eyes watching him with interest.

_ Fascinating _ ...

It was now the size of a big panther, perhaps a female lion from Midgard…

That made Loki curious… was the dragon male or female? Did they even have that kind of segregation? He didn’t know how to detect it…

Would it be impolite to ask?

The dragon closed its eyes then, even as Loki kept looking at it in wonder. It was now small enough so that both of them could sleep on the moss bed comfortably.

How convenient… a dragon that could change its size. Was there, perhaps, a limit to its capacity for altering its size…? Magical transmorgrification was one of Loki’s area’s of expertise; hence, he was bound to be curious.

“May I ask you something?” Loki murmured softly, nudging the dragon’s forepaw.

It opened one of its lids, giving his hand an answering nudge with its forepaw. 

“Are you an egg layer?” he asked awkwardly, cringing at his own question. It sounded stupider when he said it out loud. “I mean, do you receive the seed or do you give it to another dragon? For producing offspring, I mean.”

Damnit, he was bad at this kind of communication. 

The dragon had both its eyes open now, and it was giving Loki a strange look. He was unable to place it.

“Pardon me, I’m just a very curious person. I hunger for all kinds of knowledge,” he confessed, settling down on his back to get more comfortable. “We know very little about dragons in my home realm.”

He deliberately kept out the part about the Asgardians killing most dragons on sight...

The dragon made a small clicking noise again, attracting Loki’s attention back to it. 

“What?” he asked, his head rising awkwardly to watch the dragon.

It moved its head this way and that, confusing him thoroughly.

“Do you wish to answer my question?”

The dragon nodded.

“Alright. Are you male… as in, are you a seed giver?”

The dragon shook its head.

_ Oh… _

“So, you’re an egg layer? A female?”

The dragon nodded, but at the same time, let out a disgruntled growl. Loki couldn’t understand why.

“So… am I allowed to call you a  _ she- _ dragon?” he asked with a teasing grin. “A  _ she-beast _ maybe? Wait, can I name you?”

The dragon huffed loudly and then turned around to face away from him, clearly annoyed. 

“Oh be a sport, dragon, I can come up with some really creative names, I’ll have you know.”

The dragon didn’t budge.

“How about Glóa? It suits you well, I think, for your scales are iridescent and very becoming. How about Marrdǫll, or Óðljos, in the same vein?”

He could hear the dragon breathing deeply now, and it surprised him that the creature was willing to be vulnerable enough with him to be able to  _ sleep  _ next to him. He rose on his elbow and watched her silently for a while, awestruck.

One would have never expected this kind of behaviour from a  _ dreki _ . Usually, they were violent and bloodthirsty.

For a while, the ruthless side of Loki entertained the idea of conjuring a dagger and killing the creature in her sleep. But then… he just kept gazing at her… and it felt utterly wrong to even consider killing her.

He truly didn’t feel the urge for it. Leaving aside the incident at the lake, she hadn’t attempted to harm him.

She had, instead, kept him in her cave, safe from other dangers, he assumed. She had fed him too, and generally played nice with him.

Perhaps… he could forge a genuine friendship here. After spending more time with her, it seemed more and more plausible.

With that thought in mind, Loki moved onto his back again and closed his eyes, hoping for a somewhat restful sleep.

* * *

_ Heaviness… on his chest… again…  _

Loki stirred awake in the middle of the night to find that he was trapped… beneath the dragon.  _ Again. _

She was literally sleeping on top of him, her leathery, smooth wings spread all around him like a blanket. And she was snoring loudly. No… she was  _ purring _ . Like a feline.

Thankfully, her smaller size afforded him enough breathing room to not suffocate.

He wiggled to get out from under her, feeling the ache returning in his innumerable wounds. The pain numbing potion was wearing off…

The dragon opened her eyes, gazing down at him as he struggled. 

“I’m glad you’re awake. Now, will you do me the kindness of moving off me?”

The dragon didn’t move, instead it started purring again, much louder this time. The vibration went right down to his bones.

“Uhh… please, move,” he grunted, now actively trying to push her off him. Despite her smaller size, she was still surprisingly strong. “My wounds are hurting again. I need to take another potion, mayhap.”

The dragon made a few clicking noises and then pushed off him, looking rather reluctant in doing so.

“You can climb all over me once I’m healed. Injuries aside, I’m a very sturdy person.”

She narrowed her eyes at him in response, as if doubting him. He shrugged and pulled another potion bottle from his interdimensional storage. Drinking the acetous liquid, he put the bottle away and turned back to his strange bedmate.

“Do you happen to have a place where I can…” He hesitated, waving his hand in the air. “...relieve myself or wash myself?”

The dragon seemed to snort at him in amusement.  _ Great. _

Her sinewy tail rose up in the air then, pointing at a certain fold in the rocks. Well, at least she had an answer to his query. 

Without delay, he went exploring. 

Indeed, she  _ had  _ a place that could be said to be a rudimentary bathing chamber. Beyond the narrow folds of rock lay yet another cavern, darker and bigger than the one he was lodging in with his scaly…  _ acquaintance _ .

It had a small waterfall that drained down the layers of rock that formed the high cliffs, with verdant green moss growing on its sides.

There must be vegetation on top of the cliff, with flowing water that fed this waterfall.  _ Interesting…  _

After relieving himself and washing off, Loki returned to the moss bed to find the dragon awake still. She watched him silently while he gingerly climbed back onto the bed.

“Now, I’m going to try and sleep again. Please, try not to suffocate me in sleep.”

The dragon huffed and lay down, kicking some of moss up to create a sort of moss wall in the middle of the bed.

Loki found it infinitely amusing.

“You have a bit of a temper, don’t you?”

The dragon growled in response, making him chuckle.

“Does that mean that you won’t let me name you?”

Another growl…  _ and  _ a hiss.

“I guess not. How about terms of endearment?”

This time, he only received silence. 

Sighing, he lay back down the bed and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, bright sunlight was pouring into the cave through its mouth. There was no sign of his she-dragon, and he assumed that she must be out doing… whatever it was that dragons did.

Loki rose from the moss bed and went about inspecting his wounds again.

He felt much better now, well-rested. His wounds fared better too. All in all, the sleep had helped him a lot.

The dragon returned after a few hours, once again carrying a dead fish in her mouth. Loki accepted her gift gratefully, though, he was beginning to wonder if fish was all he was going to get as meals here.

“So, lady dragon,” he began as he cooked the fish, trying to ignore the heated sensation caused by the fire on his naked upper half, “have you always lived here in Rúnviðr?”

She padded up to him and sat down gracefully, shaking her head. If he wasn’t mistaken, her eyes looked sad and pained. However, that expression quickly changed as she blinked and looked away from him.

“Are there other dragons in Rúnviðr?”

Another shake of head.

“How about the place where you actually come from?”

Surprisingly, she shook her head again.

That wasn’t what he had expected.

“So… you’re saying that you’re the  _ only  _ one of your kind?”

She looked down, as if observing her forepaws, then let out a hiss. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but it sounded like a disgruntled  _ yes _ .

For a few moments, silence prevailed. Loki didn’t know what to ask next, or if it might be too rude to ask her of things that perhaps made her sad.

However, he remembered that he was on a quest here, and he needed to complete it. 

“I was wondering… if you’d be willing to help me in my quest,” he said softly, modulating his tone to be just the right amount of earnest. “You know that I need to find the Vanir princess.”

The dragon’s ears twitched, but otherwise, she remained still.

“Can you please tell me what you know about her?” 

She made a little keening sound, turning her head to gaze at the fire crackling in the hearth.

“Look, dear, I know that you know  _ something  _ about her disappearance. I can tell when someone is lying or keeping things from me. That’s one of my many talents, I’ll have you know.” He pulled the fish out of the hearth and began to wait for it to cool down. Meanwhile, he kept talking. “If you’d help me, then perhaps I could return the favour in some way. I’m a master of seidr, the best sorcerer in all the nine realms--not  _ my  _ words, mind you.”

The dragon looked up at him then, her eyes glowing with curiosity.

“You doubt my claims?”

She rolled her eyes, but still, that curiosity remained in her gaze.

“I’ll prove it to you one day, just let me heal completely,” he said smugly, cutting the fish down with a dagger.

The dragon still looked sort of unconvinced, though. And he couldn’t blame her, to be honest. She  _ had _ , after all, bested him during their skirmish at the lake. But that was only because he had been completely blindsided by her cloaking powers, and not to mention, her sharp talons.

And he had nearly drowned.

“So, are you willing to help me?”

She gave him a non-committal tilt of head, which kind of annoyed him. 

“Fine, then I’ll just have to go at it myself, I suppose. I’ll take my leave as soon as I heal.”

The dragon gave him a deep, almost unsettling kind of look then. He couldn’t understand it, but it sure made him feel a bit apprehensive.

Their pretty much one-sided conversation died after that, with him choosing to eat his lunch quietly, while the dragon still sat by the hearth and kept staring at him.

Dinner was a different affair, however. She had brought in a larger kill this time--a big, meaty bird with bright red and blue plumage.

“Is it a variety of  _ vildfuglaz _ ?” he asked her, and her reply was a simple, unsure head-tilt.

The dragon watched him with interest as he cleaned and prepared the bird with his dagger alone, explaining to her how he had honed this skill.

“We used to go on long hunts into the wilderness of various realms. Hunting for game is one of Asgard’s oldest traditions.”

Roasting the bird was a bit of a challenge, but Loki persevered and managed it somehow, balancing it on a makeshift stand that he had carved from the bones and firewood logs collected in a corner, adding a bit of seidr in to make sure that they didn’t catch fire. He wanted to make the dinner nice; something of an offering for his dragon host.

Thankfully, she accepted that offering very eagerly.

“Do you like the taste of roasted poultry better?” he asked her while she dug her talons into a leg piece, making loud, growly noises as she ate.

She gave him an enthusiastic nod, then went back to eating, leaving him to his own portion of the bird.

It still wasn’t spiced, but it was better than the fish, at least in  _ his  _ opinion.

He hoped that this offering would soften the dragon towards him, making her more amenable to helping him in his quest to find princess Viruna.

If he could convince her to have him  _ ride  _ her, that would make his search infinitely easier… not to mention, make him a legend in all the nine realms. A dragon letting an Asgardian ride them was something unthinkable.

Perhaps Loki could make it happen…?

He kept ruminating on this one thought as they both ate dinner in peace, settling into a strange sort of domesticity.

* * *

He was in a bright, sunlit meadow, filled with wildflowers, chasing after… someone. A maiden with hair so fair and lustrous--like spun sugar, skin aglow against the sun.

Why he was chasing her, he didn’t know. But wanted to catch her. And hold her in his arms… 

He caught up with her soon enough, grasping her by the waist.

She was soft…  _ so soft _ .

When he finally looked at her face, he was startled to discover that it was Princess Viruna.  _ Norns… _

He had always known her to be beautiful, but for the first time, he felt genuine attraction towards her, and it seemed like she felt the same way towards him. 

She looked at him with adoring eyes and laughed freely--a lilting sound that filled his heart with joy.

Her pale hair whipped around him as he picked her up and lay her down on the bed of flowers, his body covering hers.

Her eyes were so soft in the golden sunlight… blue, like the Vanir sky itself. She was full of love and rapture, and he craved it immensely.

He kissed her, moulding his body to hers, pressing himself against all of her delicious curves. As their lips brushed against each other, their hands explored.

Loki felt far too impatient for a slow seduction. He wanted this beautiful maiden  _ now _ . He wanted to bury himself deep inside her and relish this sensation for hours...

Suddenly, they were both naked, and he couldn’t help himself from grabbing at her roughly. It had been so many years since he had touched someone amorously.

It almost felt strange and achy.

Her breasts were full and satiny, her thighs milky and inviting. As he touched her intimately, the sheer pleasure on her face made him grow harder.

He wanted her…  _ by the Norns _ , he wanted her!

She turned him over and climbed atop him, taking him in her hands with a knowing smirk on her face. When she began stroking him, he simply closed his eyes and groaned.

So much pleasure… he was drowning in it. It was nigh painful.

His lips parted as his sounds of pleasure travelled through the field. She was stroking him so well, her warm hands working all over his length… Norns, he craved that warmth so much.

He was close… so close to reaching completion. Her touch was magic.

Suddenly, he heard a purr atop him, mixed with a low growl.

His eyes snapped open, expecting to see the beautiful woman atop him. 

Instead, he saw the dragon, leaning over his chest, her blue eyes dilated.

_ Norns…  _

_ No no no… _

It was all just a dream…

Loki closed his eyes again and groaned in loss. _ It had felt so real, damnit! _

Suddenly, he felt his manhood jump. Something was stroking him… through his pants.

He let out a gasp of surprise as he opened his eyes and tried to look down at himself. The dragon’s body blocked his view.

“Wha…” he gasped as the stroking continued, making him falter with his words. When he tried to move, a strong forepaw stopped him, pushing against his chest to keep him in place.

The dragon watched him silently, just a low purr coming from her.

Loki trembled as the strokes pulled him closer and closer to his impending release. He stared at her with wide, astonished eyes, wondering how she was doing it…

The only answer seemed to be her agile  _ tail _ .

The realization did nothing to make him feel better, though. 

He was being touched,  _ intimately _ , by a dragon… stroked to a finish by her mere tail. How she knew how to touch him so, he didn’t know. He didn't even  _ want  _ to know...

But his touch starved body was liking it  _ immensely _ .

“I… I’m…” He groaned and closed his eyes again, giving in and moving against her touch so that he’d reach a quick completion. In his mind, he desperately tried to conjure the image of Viruna from his dream, stroking him till he came.

His underclothes and pants got ruined in the process, as his seed spurted inside them. In this moment, he cared not for it...

When the pleasure of the release finally subsided, Loki opened his eyes and looked up at the dragon with a growing sense of guilt and confusion.

What had he done? What had he just participated in?

He remained silent, but the shame of his deed still washed over him.

The dragon stroked his chest and abdomen with her forepaw, as if trying to soothe him. He didn’t know what to make of it, but he also couldn’t push her off. He didn’t want to… 

Then, much to his surprise, she reduced her size and climbed atop his chest fully, purring so loudly that he couldn’t hear anything else. Not even his own harsh breathing.

They lay there in silence, with her purring and comforting him, and him still in shock at what had just occurred between them.

Slowly, despite his agitation, Loki got lulled into sleep again, the purring against his chest proving too much of a comfort to reject.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooo damn curious about what you guys think of this madness. HMU in the comments, rant at me, but let me know your thoughts. heh.
> 
> K, now Imma go hide in an unknown location.  
> 


	4. CHAPTER - 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki finds himself confused and agitated over his evolving relationship with the she-dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys still coming along for the ride? Still with me? Good, cuz it's about to get even crazier. Huehuehue!

When Loki awoke again, he was mercifully alone.

Rubbing his palms over his face, he rose from the moss bed and looked around blearily. The hearth fire was still going strong.  _ She  _ must have added some logs to it.

She… his iridescent dragon. His attacker, his rescuer, his… what else?

He sighed heavily, feeling the weight of their deeds upon him. She had given him pleasure, and he had accepted it without much in the name of resistance. He didn’t even think to use magic to avoid it from happening.

He had never done anything quite like this with any creature before. What did it make him?

Was it immoral to accept the intimate touch of a dragon? She certainly seemed to know what she was doing…

Shaking his head as he rose, he took his pants and underclothes off, catching the now dried evidence of his lust on them.

It filled him with an unholy sort of feeling--somewhere between ignominy and salacity.

Grimacing, he used his magic to clean his clothes, removing all traces of his spend from them. Then, he put the clothes aside and went to the cavern with the waterfall to take a long, cleansing shower. He had the articles for it in his interdimensional storage after all, so why not indulge…? His wounds were now almost closed; they could very well take the pressure of the falling water on them.

Once under the spray of water, he closed his eyes and leaned against the smooth rock of the cavern. The events of last night kept repeating in his mind, haunting his thoughts, making him groan. He didn’t want to admit it even to himself, but thinking about it was renewing his lust as well.

The dream had been so pleasant, and the reality… so shocking and horrifying. Not because he thought the dragon a monster, but because he thought  _ himself  _ a monster.

The worst part was that he had enjoyed her touch…  _ immensely _ .

After so many years… someone had touched him willingly-- _ pleasured  _ him willingly--and still, he couldn’t stop feeling ashamed of it all.

Yet, as he thought of the deed once again, he felt himself grow stiff with need. 

Letting out a laboured sigh, he gripped his burgeoning erection and began to stroke, letting out a string of guttural, needy moans. 

By the time he was done, his body was calm but his mind was all stormy. He had wanted to imagine the beautiful face of Viruna while he pleasured himself, but instead, he imagined his she-dragon...

He heard a scratching noise, then, and his eyes opened at once, alert and cautious. 

Shock and adrenaline washed over him as he saw the dragon standing at the entrance of the cavern, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open--a very un-dragon-like expression.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then, she turned around and dashed out of the cavern, bumping against the rocky walls on her way out, her tail shaking wildly as she cloaked herself--seemingly an afterthought.

Loki exhaled, finally letting out the breath that he had been holding in his state of surprise. 

Well, it was quite obvious that she had been watching him, and also, recognized the impropriety of her actions from an Aesir-Vanir cultural perspective. No creature would happen to behave like that, unless they knew and lived in a cultural environment like that.

Loki frowned. 

The actions of the dragon were completely un-dragon-like, confusing him thoroughly.

As he washed himself, half-expecting her to stomp back into the cavern, yet another invasive thought struck him full force…

Was the dragon  _ attracted  _ to him?

Even considering the possibility made him feel strange on so many levels.

What was going on with his accursed life? Were the Norns just entertaining themselves by toying with him now?

He came out of the cave feeling thoroughly agitated, no longer caring if he gave the dragon an eyeful of his nakedness. She had anyway seen more than enough through her own sneakiness.

“I know you’re here,” he muttered, stepping into their ‘bedroom’. “I can  _ sense  _ you, you know.”

He heard a hiss coming from a corner, supposedly a warning. He rolled his eyes.

“What, no longer feeling bold enough to come close?” he asked, sort of half-dreading his own anger induced tirade here. “Don’t want to stare some more at this?” He gestured to his body. “Or blatantly touch this? I didn’t think that  _ propriety  _ was your forte.”

The hiss slowly turned into a sort of growl, and before Loki could react, he was pushed into a wall. His eyes widened in shock and his body went into a combative stance, even though he knew that attempting combat with the dragon whilst naked was extremely foolish. He could very well blast her off with his seidr, but he didn’t want to injure her. 

The dragon, still invisible, didn’t hurt him with her actions as he was expecting. She just kept his body pushed to the wall with hers. 

“What are you doing?” he asked with hitched breath as she began to shimmer, materializing before his eyes fully. “I don’t know what you want or if you fully understand the consequences of your actions here, but this is completely out of line!” 

She raised herself on her hind paws and rested the forepaws against the wall, rubbing her smooth-scaled body against his, especially his crotch.

That was certainly answer enough to his question, though it still rendered him completely scandalized. His manhood rose to attention quickly, like a needy friend that wished for attention.

And attention it received in plenty, with the dragon insinuating her lithe body between his legs and rubbing it deliberately against his hard flesh.

The texture of her smooth scales against his sensitive skin was something  _ else…  _ something quite indescribable. It felt good,  _ so  _ good.

She was warm, he had known that, but that warmth pressing and rubbing against his cock was just driving him insane with lust.

“Dragon…” He breathed heavily, his hands reaching up to hold her, feeling her breath right in his face. “Do you… are you  _ aware  _ of what you’re doing?”

She pulled back a bit and gazed into his eyes, hers completely dilated now. As he looked at her in curiosity, confusion and lust, she gave him a slow nod.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “How?”

She couldn’t reply to that, he knew, and he felt like an imbecile for asking. But then, she responded by licking his cheek and throat, and the question fell by the wayside.

The lick was different than her previous one the day before, fueled by desire and not merely congeniality. And while Loki struggled to identify the things he was feeling, more licks followed from the dragon, down his shoulders and arms,  _ and  _ his chest.

When her tongue, textured as it was, passed over his nipples, he couldn’t help but groan. His manhood twitched against her, growing harder.

“Have you… done this before?” he asked, feeling so damn unsettled that he was being seduced by a  _ dreki _ .

She pulled her tongue away from his chest as he looked at her with lustful curiosity. She gave him a shake of her head in answer. 

That was… he didn’t know what to make of that.

But he didn’t have much of a chance to dwell on her answer, for she lowered her head and began licking down his abdomen, right towards his straining arousal.

“This is madness…” He gasped, leaning against the cave wall, his eyes wide and full of apprehension as he watched her tongue reach the base of his cock. “D-Don’t bite…  _ please _ .”

That was a desperate request, for he could see her sharp teeth right against his sensitive flesh. She growled in response, still, he somehow trusted her to not hurt him.

Thankfully, she only used her tongue on his aroused flesh.

And that was enough to make his eyes roll in pure, sensual bliss.

Everything about her tongue served to intensify his pleasure. The thickness, the grainy texture, the  _ heat _ emanating from it. It sent shivers down his spine, making him throb repeatedly.  _ Helplessly _ .

The cave walls reflected the sounds of his moans and gasps as his lady dragon brought him to a strange, drawn-out completion. By the time he was done throbbing and spurting his seed into her mouth, his thighs were shaking and his fingers were clawing their way into the shiny rock wall behind him.

Carefully, she pulled her mouth away from him and watched him with curious eyes. He was too dazed to decipher it.

Slowly, he pushed off the wall and stumbled, his still healing injuries reacting badly to being pressed against the hard cave rock. 

However, before he landed on the floor in a heap, the dragon stepped closer and supported him with her body. He leaned on her, grateful for the help, but still feeling extremely self-conscious for what had just occurred between them.

“Can you…” He swallowed hard, hating the wobble in his voice. “Can you help me to the bed?”

The dragon fulfilled his request without delay.

Once abed, he took another dosage of the pain numbing potion and settled atop the dried moss. The dragon climbed onto the bed as well, giving him her usual unwavering stare.

She pressed her forepaw against his chest then, pushing him onto his back. He gulped, gazing up at her as he squirmed on the moss bed.

He wondered what she was trying to do now, or if she’d initiate intimate contact again… but she simply reduced her size to a panther’s and cuddled into his side, a single wing unfurling to cover his naked torso.

“Thank you,” he said, reaching for the wing to caress it softly. 

She clicked and purred in response, raising her head to look him in the eye. There was so much depth in her gaze, so much intelligence in those blue eyes... they mesmerized him.

“I don’t know what to make of this,” he stated honestly, still caressing her rainbow-hued wing. He still felt extremely conflicted about what was going on… about what their relationship was becoming.

The dragon nuzzled into his neck, her warm breath tickling his cool skin. It seemed like she wasn’t conflicted at all…

“Do you… like me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She raised her head and gave him a firm nod.

He let out a surprised huff and laughed at the same time. “Attracted to me?”

She blew a breath at his face, then gave him a long lick from his neck to his cheek, pressing her face into his as much as she could.

“I’ll take that as a yes… surprising though it is.” 

Loki wanted to say more… ask more… but he felt extremely exhausted with the recent exertion, especially with the pain numbing potion taking effect and making him feel sluggish.

He didn’t even realize when sleep claimed him. He slumped into slumber holding his lady dragon close to him, reveling in her warmth and her sweet, petrichor-like musky scent.

* * *

It was nearly sundown and Loki was alone again. It was a surprise for him to learn that he had slept the whole day away. But his body was faring better as a result, almost completely healed now.

He was gazing at the dancing flames in the hearth while his mind tried to work out all the complications that had suddenly sprouted in his life.

His lady dragon was the foremost complication of all.

What  _ was  _ their relationship, besides being something extremely forbidden?

He didn’t belong in her world, and she didn’t belong in his. But they were both lonely and starved for affection.

Was that reason enough to become intimate?

All things considered, it was a most mismatched coupling. They weren’t even the same species!

Even though she seemed to know how to pleasure a man, for whatever reason, he had no idea about a dragon’s carnal needs. Now, he felt compelled to gain that bit of knowledge...

Ever since he woke up, he had been thinking about it constantly, driving himself to distraction. But his contemplation only led to more questions, not answers. And it was extremely frustrating.

Running a hand through his unruly hair, Loki rose from the bed and went to the waterfall again to relieve himself and take another shower, for he was covered in the lady dragon’s slobber and scent.

It wasn’t a bad scent at all--something of a mix between musk, petrichor and temperate forests, but her saliva was quite sticky.

Upon returning from his shower, he dressed himself in his pants and sat down on the bed to check on his seidr reserves. 

Even through all of the recent turmoil, he couldn’t afford to forget his quest for the princess. He had given his word to the king and queen, that he’d try his best to find their daughter. He couldn’t dishonour that promise.

The thought of the princess sent a surge of guilt through him, for it reminded him of his prurient dream of her.

Well, best to ignore  _ that…  _

He had to concentrate on finding her now, put an honest effort into it.

And hence, he had to try and broach the subject with his lady dragon once again.

As if prompted by his thoughts, the dragon returned to the cave right then, carrying another one of those brightly coloured birds in her mouth.

Her eyes widened when they met his--dilating and becoming soft. He gave her a tentative smile in return, watching with amusement as her tail began to swish around wildly.

She dropped the bird near the hearth and jumped onto the bed, nuzzling his chest and purring against it. It was a very clear show of affection, and Loki couldn’t help but enjoy it as he wrapped his arms around her rapidly shrinking body.

Grasping her head, he pressed his lips to her scaly flesh, right between her eyes, feeling her form tremble as he did so.

Norns, what was he  _ doing… _ ?

“Did you have a busy day?” he asked, still holding her close, running his fingers over the beautiful opalescent scales on her shoulders.

She nodded, pulling her head back to gaze into his eyes. Then, she lifted her forepaw and gingerly touched his shoulder, as if afraid that she’d hurt him if she pressed any harder than a featherlight touch.

“I’m almost healed,” he answered, quite surprised by his ability to understand her so clearly now. “Thank you… for caring for me.”

She nudged his face with her snout and then pulled away, leaving the bed to sit by the hearth.

“Roasted bird for dinner it is,” he said, rising from the bed as well and picking up her colourful kill.

She made a clicking noise in her throat, deeper than her usual clicks, and he assumed that it was a happy sound. She was fond of his roasted bird, after all.

Well, she had made it known that she was fond of his other  _ attributes  _ as well. He felt his face grow hot as he thought about it, keeping the dragon in the corner of his eye.

She watched him quietly as he prepared the bird for roasting. He hoped that it was in silent appreciation of his skills.

In a way, he felt a slight urge to impress her… and he wondered if he was imitating some kind of mating ritual. It was foolish to think of it as such, but he realized that he didn’t care. 

He just wanted to do something nice for her, to make her feel  _ good _ . There may not be a defining word for their relationship as yet, but it was full of mutual care at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you guys and your wonderful, hilarious comments on this story. Couldn't reply to them yet, as I'm feeling a bit out of sorts and battling an annoying and achy ear.   
> Thank you for reading and cheering on this cray cray story. <3


	5. CHAPTER - 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some uncharted territory is explored in intimacy and then some unexpected problems arise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at this manip that my dear friend _Toozmanykids_ made for this story! LOOK AT IT! EEEEeeee!  
> 

After the dinner was over, Loki took another pain numbing potion and fed some logs into the hearth as he sat down on the bed, waiting for his lady dragon to return from the waterfall chamber. She had hurried in after he had exited it, having completed his post-dinner ablutions.

He had noted that she had a habit of _‘cleaning up’_ after meals as well, something he found quite curious. It was so very… Aesir? Vanir? Why did a wild creature care so much about washing and keeping clean? Was she trained by someone to do so?

Or was she capable of forming such habits on her own?

It was something that was ingrained in people with higher intelligence and complex thought. While the dragons of the _lore_ were said to be possessed of higher intelligence, the dragons he had encountered had not lived up to those legends.

Except for _this_ particular one.

The dragons he had faced in the past had no magical abilities either. But yet again, _this_ one had them. She had, after all, nearly killed him by using those abilities.

She was so very different from other dragons… no wonder she had no companions of her ilk. No wonder she looked so lonely.

Well, she wasn’t so anymore… 

When she returned from the waterfall cave, he watched her with questioning eyes, mesmerised by her graceful movements as she came to the bed.

“Have you been in contact with the Vanir people?” he asked without preamble, almost startling her. The surprise was quite visible on her face.

Once the surprise wore off, she simply looked down and closed her eyes, as if suppressing a bad memory.

“What happened?” he asked gently, caressing the side of her face. “Did someone hurt you? Was it a Vanir who hurt you? An Aesir?”

She let out a puff of breath and shook her head. Before he could ask her more, she grew smaller and climbed onto his lap, curling herself up in his arms.

He sighed and let the matter drop, for now. But he was growing pretty certain that she had been raised by a Vanir, and perhaps, had been ill-treated as well.

The thought filled him with rage...

Her forepaw came up and nudged his chin then, distracting him from his angry thoughts. He looked at her as she pulled her face away from his chest, gazing up at him with dilated eyes. 

He knew that look now; it was the look of _desire_.

“Can I…” He pursed his lips as he struggled with the words, trying his best to appear earnest and confident. “Can I touch you, as you’ve touched me?”

She gave his neck a long lick, which he took as an affirmative answer. And so he began to caress her front, the softer scales there feeling smoother against his open palm. She shivered in response, so he took it as a sign to go further in his exploration.

However, just as he reached between her legs, she growled and pushed him onto his back. That took him by surprise, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

When her forepaw and tail began to creep up his crotch, he chuckled nervously and tried to relax himself. He had decided to take this forward, but it seemed like she wanted the reins of this situation in _her_ possession. 

Hence, he simply let her lead, helping her along by opening his pants and pushing them down his hips.

“You know, I have magic,” he said breathily as she slid over him, her eyes reflecting the hearth fire. “After I heal fully, I can change my skin… and _become_ a dragon as well.” 

That admission surprised her, for her eyes first widened, then narrowed in response. 

“I told you, I’m a master sorcerer.” He grinned, trying to cover up his nervousness. “I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve. Would you like it if I turned into a dragon as well?”

She blinked blankly for a moment, as if too stunned to respond. As if the thought had never occurred to her. Well, it probably hadn’t. She had probably not encountered anyone like him. At all.

“Answer me, my sweet,” he urged, his voice laden with desire. “Do you want me as a dragon? Would you like to… _mate_ with me, as it were?”

She reacted with a very loud purr, and then she practically attacked him with licks and nudges. It looked like she liked that idea. He liked it too, and he wanted to try it. At least they’d be the same species then… 

Soon, her body was fully covering his, weighing him down into the dried moss as she began to rub herself on him. He moaned in response and tried his best to hold her against him, feeling tendrils of pleasure grasp him as she rubbed her smooth underbelly on his hardening cock.

It was decidedly strange, with a part of his mind _still_ warring against his body as he got more and more involved in the act. He was aroused and disturbed, but he was still going forth with it. 

His eyes fluttered close then, as he decided to simply _feel_ , ignoring the warnings and protests of his psyche in favour of experiencing intimacy with her.

She was sentient, she wanted this. Wanted _him_... 

Was it so bad that they were enjoying the simple pleasures of the flesh?

Loki groaned deep in his throat as she shifted her body and began to lick his nipples with her rough tongue. It was a pleasure unlike any that he had explored with his past lovers, and he decided that he wanted more of it in the future. 

As they progressed into the tentative carnal exploration, his head started feeling fuzzy, as though he were taking a dive in murky waters. It was a strange sensation, but he didn't fight it so much as revel in it, for it added to the growing sensations of carnal bliss.

He wasn’t about to try and analyse it. At least, not right now… when he was feeling so--

A bright light flashed behind his eyelids, making him gasp as it sent warm tingles down his spine. Suddenly, he found himself back in the meadow--the one from his dream.

Viruna was with him again, straddling his lap and watching him with an amorous expression. He opened his mouth in shock, but she bent down and quickly covered it with her own, kissing him so passionately that he nearly lost his breath.

His body responded as well, growing taught with pleasure as her slickness rubbed all over his cock. And when she finally took him inside her heated flesh, he all but died and went to Valhalla.

It was the sweetest, most concentrated pleasure… it made his eyes roll back in his head.

In the time that he had played the part of an invader and that of a convict, he had all but forgotten about the pleasures of the flesh. Now, it was all coming back in intense waves. He couldn't do much else than groan and sigh and grunt in response.

It was just _that_ intense… 

Meanwhile, his brain belatedly tried to question everything that was happening to him. He wasn’t sleeping, he _certainly_ wasn’t dreaming… how did it happen? How was he back in the dream with Viruna? 

Where was his lady dragon?

These questions floated in his mind like confused eddies, and then they vanished entirely as his pleasure began to peak, led by his lover’s enthusiastic movements.

White flashed in his vision once again, making him literally blind as his climax struck.

He was reduced to a shuddering, panting mess as he released, his sack aching as he kept spurting his seed for a long while.

He heard moaning above him, laborious breathing giving way to gasps as the hot channel still gripping his cock contracted around it, further enhancing his pleasure.

“Norns… what...” he mumbled in his post-coital haze, just as the too bright light faded from his eyes and he blinked, clearing his vision.

He found himself back in the cave, limbs all entangled with his dragon. His cock was still throbbing, he realized, and he was intimately joined with her.

Norns… he had indeed made love to her. But it was the most confusing erotic experience of his life.

Perhaps he needed to lay off the pain numbing potions for a while; they were surely messing with his head. 

As he groaned and shifted, he finally slipped out of her slick channel. The movement pulled a soft hiss from her, but otherwise, she didn’t move, still adhered to his front.

Deciding not to jostle her further, he settled down and kept his arms around her, gently stroking the iridescent scales on her neck and wings.

When she began purring, he relaxed and closed his eyes, closing his mind to the thoughts that were threatening to break his mental peace. For now, he simply wanted to rest and sleep. 

He’d worry about the consequences of his actions later… 

* * *

It was still dark when Loki woke up, with a few more hours to spare before sunrise. His lady dragon was, surprisingly, not sprawled all over him as usual. She was sleeping on her side this time, curled up next to him.

For a moment, he simply lay still on their moss bed and admired her.

She looked so very peaceful, breathing deeply with added soft purrs. Her iridescent scales shimmered with each breath, reflecting the now weakened hearth fire. She was a beautiful creature indeed, and Loki was still in awe of her.

Moreso, her cheeky deposition… her thoughtfulness… her sheer power… everything attracted him to her. He felt drawn to her, almost _helplessly_ so.

But now that they had actually slept together…well, _mated_ … he didn’t know _how_ he was going to continue this strange relationship with her…

His time in Rúnviðr was limited, and she had made no indication that she wanted to leave the forest at all, even though she gave him the impression that she wasn’t very happy here.

The one thing that he _was_ certain about was that she was lonely.

And so was he.

Mayhap, that would be motivation enough for her to accompany him back to Asgard, as his… pet? No, she wasn’t his pet; she was his equal. But he’d have to use that as a cover to bring her with him, or else no one would let him keep her.

Then, another thought came to him. Perhaps… he could stay in Rúnviðr, and build a life with her here? He was good with diplomacy… mayhap he could convince the native dwellers to let him stay? Asgard didn’t really need him; he could visit his family every few years. They didn’t need to know about his relationship with the she-dragon.

No… the native dwellers would _never_ allow him to stay. Same as the Vanir, he was an interloper, and they were merely tolerating his presence here, for now. He was expected to complete his quest and leave immediately.

There was no solution in sight… but Loki was not the one to give up so easily.

After years upon years of solitude, he finally had someone who was showing him open affection (without an ulterior motive). He finally had a chance at _companionship_. He could dare to be a bit selfish… 

Sighing deeply, Loki brushed his contemplations aside and slowly rose from the bed, careful not to disturb his lady dragon. While she slept, he thought it wise to take a shower. He’d wake her up afterwards…

A small smile tugged at his lips as he thought about tickling her awake. Maybe she’d growl at him in annoyance, or maybe she’d nuzzle against his chest. In both the scenarios, he realized that he found her adorable.

As he stepped inside the waterfall chamber, he cast a brief spell to check on his wounds. He felt quite fine now, but somehow, there was a lingering sense of exhaustion in his body, and it wasn’t abating. It could be because it was healing rapidly, and required his life force to do so… or it could be because of an infection. It was important to unearth the cause of it.

The spell went through all of his body and then presented to him an imagery of it. Everything looked fine to him. The wounds were almost healed, the scars were very faint, and new skin was sprouting from behind the scabs.

It was all functioning as it was supposed to… whether it be due to his Aesir resilience or his Jotun constitution. He had no idea about how his Jotun self even functioned, let alone be aware of its natural healing mechanisms. It was a dark spot in his knowledge, and it rankled.

He shook his head and focused on what was important right now--the fact that he still felt as though he wasn’t fully _healed_.

It wasn’t a mountain of a problem. The feeling was mostly an annoyance in the back of his mind, but still, usually, convalescence didn’t bring with it such exhaustion. He had been through plenty of battles to know it. The only time he had gone through a similar experience was when he had suffered the horrors that the Mad Titan had foisted on him. During that time, he was never truly allowed to be healed enough before he was pushed into gruesome situations and forced to fend for himself. As a result, he had been terribly drained back then.

But why now? There was no comparison between _that_ situation and the present one.

Huffing in irritation, he waved the magical imagery away and started with his shower. The problem had to have a solution.

While he was under the spray of the waterfall, he had a sort of an epiphany. Just as he was going through all the possible things that may be going wrong with his body, a thought struck him. The exhaustion wasn’t coming from his _body_ … it was coming from his _seidr_ reserves.

But… how? What was causing it?

After washing himself, he pulled a fresh pair of pants from his interdimensional storage and put them on. Then, he went about exploring more of the waterfall cave to pass his time. And to ponder the issue of his attenuating seidr reserves.

The cave was deep, extending further than the waterfall itself. Water now trickled down its smooth rock in a slow, dribbling manner, allowing for the moss here to grow thicker. Being well versed in phytology, he could see that it was of a slightly different variety than the one that grew around the waterfall. 

The deeper he went into the cave, the darker it grew, the light from the twin moons waning, revealing that it had no opening at _this_ extension. It was a good thing that he could see well in the dark, or else he would’ve been compelled to use his seidr to illuminate his path. He wished to conserve it now, given his recent misgivings about it.

Further in, the cave grew more narrow, making it a bit difficult for him to squeeze through it. Still, he tried to reach deeper, just out of curiosity, to see how long this extension was. Here, the moss that grew on the rocks was drastically different compared to the one he had encountered previously on the more open cave walls. 

It was a rare kind of _Glóimösi_ , and it shone a bright red upon any kind of disturbance. It illuminated his path ahead every time he stroked it with his hand.

Once he grew used to its unusual glow, it was easier to ignore it and focus on other things--like a strange glint coming from the depths of the cave extension. It wasn’t the moss, for it was _shimmering_ , not glowing. He was very certain that it was coming from something metallic.

After a certain point, Loki could go no further. He didn’t wish to use his magic, for obvious reasons, but something about that glinting metallic object seemed familiar to him.

It was still quite a distance away, but he could see its shape now. It was a small disc, with some kind of inscription on it.

The more he observed it, the more certain he grew that it was the _Vanir Sigil_ \--worn in an ornamental fashion, _only_ by the members of the royal family of Vanaheim.

Loki’s eyes widened.

Well, that definitely warranted the use of his magic, for he needed to get close to that object. Without delay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being late with updates. I'm still sick.  
> (I still crave your thoughts and comments, though. So please do continue to share them with me. <3)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are fic authors' currency. Please let me know what you thought of the fic. <3


End file.
